We've got a whole mess of sample tweets and Facebook posts for you so you can maximize your time during the Challenge and focus on what really matters...raising so much money for your cause. You can check ‘em all out in the social media section of the Toolkit. However, we’d love to share a little social media etiquette to help create a really amazing social campaign. Here we go...

The hashtag. The cute little slanted tic-tac-toe grid is an essential social media tool — but it must be used wisely. At best, it connects your message to others similar in theme or content, allowing readers to easily access related posts. At worst, it strings together unrelated nonsense, leaving people more confused than when they started.

TwitterHashtags were invented for Twitter and remain the site’s chief organizing principle. If you want to trend, use hashtags. Tweets with hashtags get twice the engagement of those without.

FacebookAvoid using hashtags on Facebook. We’ve found that posts without hashtags on Facebook see more engagement.

Instagram​Hashtags on Instagram work. Sometimes it’s the posts with more hashtags that see the most engagement. So, use the official hashtag of the Challenge but you can also use hashtags specific to your cause.

Top non-profit hashtags to include in your postA good rule of thumb for hashtags is to make them simple and very relevant to your cause. For example, the best hashtag for autism is #autism.

Best times to post to social media

Facebook: The end of the week is usually the best time to post on Facebook so maybe post an extra couple on Thursday and Friday. However, still post daily to keep the momentum high and the campaign visible.

Twitter: Posting mid-day for the best click through on Twitter but the early evening is best for retweet rates.

Pinterest: Best times for Pinterest are in the evenings anytime after 7 or 8pm

Instagram: The best time to post on Instagram is around lunchtime and also after work and into the evening.